Ocean
eBook - PDF

Ocean

  1. 183 pages
  2. English
  3. PDF
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

Ocean

About this book

Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things.

The ocean comprises the largest object on our planet. Retelling human history from an oceanic rather than terrestrial point of view unsettles our relationship with the natural environment. Our engagement with the world's oceans can be destructive, as with today's deluge of plastic trash and acidification, but the mismatch between small bodies and vast seas also emphasizes the frailty and resilience of human experience.

From ancient stories of shipwrecked sailors to the containerized future of 21st-century commerce, Ocean splashes the histories we thought we knew into salty and unfamiliar places.

Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in The Atlantic.

Trusted by 375,005 students

Access to over 1 million titles for a fair monthly price.

Study more efficiently using our study tools.

Information

Publisher
Bloomsbury Academic
Year
2020
Print ISBN
9781501348631
eBook ISBN
9781501348655
Edition
1
Topic
Literature
Subtopic
Literary Criticism Theory
Index
Literature
1
TWO 
ORIGINS: 
ALIEN 
OR 
CORE?
Two 
stories 
herald 
Ocean’s 
arrival. 
In 
what 
used 
to 
be 
the 
most 
common 
explanation 
of 
the 
blueness 
of 
our 
planet, 
Alien 
water 
streaked 
through 
space 
on 
an 
icy 
comet 
that 
splashed 
down 
onto 
barren 
rock. 
In 
a 
newer, 
alternative 
explanation, 
Ocean 
was 
here 
all 
along, 
its 
waters 
stored 
inside 
the 
planetary 
core 
of 
rocky 
material 
gathered 
together 
billions 
of 
years 
ago 
when 
the 
planet 
formed. 
Water, 
the 
element 
that 
lls 
up 
the 
ocean 
and 
makes 
life 
possible, 
either 
dropped 
from 
the 
sky 
or 
oozed 
out 
from 
a 
solid 
center. 
It 
is 
Alien, 
or 
it 
is 
Core. 
ese 
rival 
possibilities 
establish 
Ocean 
as 
an 
ambiguous 
thing 
from 
its 
prehistoric 
origins. 
It 
is 
an 
object 
with 
two 
meanings, 
two 
origins, 
two 
stories.
e 
Alien 
story 
describes 
the 
radical 
intrusion 
of 
external 
forces 
imposing 
themselves 
onto 
a 
stable, 
if 
lifeless, 
planetary 
system. 
ink 
of 
that 
dry 
rock 
in 
the 
void, 
four-and-a-half 
billion 
years 
ago, 
newly 
created 
and 
circling 
the 
sun. 
Onto 
its 
jagged 
surface 
splashes 
the 
ice 
comet 
with 
its 
Alien 
cargo. 
e 
newly 
arrived 
ice 
melts, 
spilling 
across 
our 
planet’s 

Table of contents

  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Page
  3. CONTENTS
  4. DETERRITORIALIZING PREFACE
  5. Chapter 1: Two Origins: Alien or Core?
  6. Chapter 2: Seafood before History
  7. Chapter 3: Myth I: Odysseus, not Achilles
  8. Chapter 4: Wet Globalization I: The Premodern Anthropocene
  9. Chapter 5: Sea Poetry I: Adamastor as Warning and Gate
  10. Chapter 6: Sailors: A Technological History
  11. Chapter 7: Interlude: Port of New York
  12. Chapter 8: Sea Poetry II: The Sea in Emily Dickinson
  13. Chapter 9: Myth II: Queequeg and Other Mermaids
  14. Chapter 10: Wet Globalization II: Containers
  15. Chapter 11: Blue Environmentalism: Rachel Carson
  16. Chapter 12: Swimmers: Immersive Histories
  17. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  18. READING THE BLUE HUMANITIES
  19. INDEX

Frequently asked questions

Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Subscription tab in your account settings on the Perlego website. Your subscription will stay active until the end of your current billing period. Learn how to cancel your subscription
No, books cannot be downloaded as external files, such as PDFs, for use outside of Perlego. However, you can download books within the Perlego app for offline reading on mobile or tablet. Learn how to download books offline
Perlego offers two plans: Essential and Complete
  • Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
  • Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Both plans are available with monthly, semester, or annual billing cycles.
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1 million books across 990+ topics, we’ve got you covered! Learn about our mission
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more about Read Aloud
Yes! You can use the Perlego app on both iOS and Android devices to read anytime, anywhere — even offline. Perfect for commutes or when you’re on the go.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app
Yes, you can access Ocean by Steve Mentz in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Literature & Literary Criticism Theory. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.